Portal:Financial Crisis/Financial Crisis Bubbles and Bailouts



The collapse of the U.S. housing bubble led directly to the largest industry bailout in U.S. history. While it will be many years yet before we can put a hard number on the amount of taxpayer dollars actually lost in the bailout, the Center for Media and Democracy's latest assessment of dollars disbursed in the bailout graphically illustrates the comparatively extraordinary lengths to which the federal government went to bailout the financial sector.

References for the statistics in the chart: The S&L Crisis (audited RTC statements adjusted to 2010 dollars) Track the Recovery Money The CBO's Estimated Health Reform Cost Cost of U.S. Wars in the Middle East Total Wall Street Bailout Cost (see below)